But the first female coach of a professional men's basketball team isn't worried about critics who call her hiring a publicity stunt.

''I'm always going to have people that doubt me,'' Ashley McElhiney said.

The former Vanderbilt point guard's only coaching experience came from private lessons before she was introduced this week as the head of the new ABA franchise. Still, McElhiney says she can make it in a league made up mostly of former NBA players and others hoping to impress NBA scouts.

''I wouldn't have taken the job if I wasn't up for it,'' she said. ''It will be a lot of commitment, and I want to win, so I'm going to do whatever it takes.''

McElhiney said she turned down the Rhythm job two months ago because she felt rushed. Instead, she took an entry-level position analyzing video for Ohio State women's coach Jim Foster.

But she felt as if she was missing something.

''I was constantly thinking about what if, what if? I don't want to go through life passing up chances,'' McElhiney said. ''That's the thing people regret - chances they don't take.

''And this is obviously a huge chance. It's going to be a challenge, and I look forward to it.''

Randy Frazier, who has known McElhiney since she was in kindergarten and coached her in junior high and high school in Gleason, Tenn., said McElhiney won't be intimidated by being the only female in a male-dominated situation.

''In her heart, she believes she can do it,'' Frazier said. ''Sometimes the best route to do anything is jump in the fire.''

That competitive nature turned the 5-foot-6 point guard some people didn't think could play in the Southeastern Conference into a two-time all-conference performer.

McElhiney has been in a gym since she was 5, learning to dribble while her older sister, Kellie, practiced and played. As she grew up, the girl nicknamed ''Tiger'' would shoot thousands of shots, breaking only for dinner before returning for more practice at a school of 160 where the door was always open to the players.

''I have a passion for basketball,'' McElhiney said.

She became Gleason's all-time leading scorer with 2,073 points and led the team to a title in her senior year.

At Vanderbilt, McElhiney became the starting point guard 22 games into her freshman season. In her career, she handed out more assists (683) than any other player, male or female, and holds several other school records, including playing every minute of 38 games.

She helped Vanderbilt win the 2002 SEC tournament, reach the NCAA tournament every year she was there and fell just short of the Final Four in 2001 with a loss to eventual champion Notre Dame.

She was drafted by the Indiana Fever of the WNBA, but never made the roster.

Rhythm co-owner Sally Anthony, a singer who also has her own record label and a Web site promoting female artists, said plenty of men were interested in the coaching job. But she was adamant about hiring a woman to help open more doors.

In 2001, Stephanie Ready became the first woman to coach in men's professional basketball as an assistant NBDL coach with the Greenville Groove. Two years later, Tennessee State athletic director Teresa Phillips became the only woman to coach a Division I men's game when her interim coach was suspended.

McElhiney hasn't yet had a chance to meet players on the Rhythm. In fact, the expansion team won't have any until November, when training camp opens. The season starts in late November and runs through March.

The Rhythm owners plan to support McElhiney by stocking the roster with players more interested in working their way to the NBA than worrying about the gender of their coach.

''If they're going to have an attitude, we've got her back,'' Anthony said.

McElhiney is eager to start watching film, studying players, talking with coaches and learning as much as she can before the Rhythm invites players to camp.